When holding positions overnight, traders may incur or earn swap fees. These overnight interest rates vary by instrument and direction of trade. Here's how to check these rates in your trading platforms:
Trading costs also include other components such as commission fees and account-specific charges, which are important to consider for effective trading cost management.
Swap terms are configured for the exact instrument and account. Check the swap calculation type and unit before interpreting the long and short values: a number shown in points or a percentage is not automatically an amount in your account currency.
In MT4 Platform:
Log in to your MT4 account
Locate the "Market Watch" panel (usually on the left side of your screen)
Right-click on the instrument you want to check
Select Specification from the instrument's context menu.
A new window will appear showing the contract specifications
Scroll down to find the "Swap Long" and "Swap Short" values
"Swap Long" shows the overnight interest rate for buy positions
"Swap Short" shows the overnight interest rate for sell positions
In MT5 Platform:
Log in to your MT5 account
Find the "Market Watch" window
Right-click on your desired instrument
Choose "Specification" from the context menu
In the specifications window, locate the "Swap Long" and "Swap Short" fields
These values represent the overnight interest rates for long and short positions respectively
Understanding Swap Values:
For a cash swap, a positive value indicates a credit under the applicable calculation rules.
For a cash swap, a negative value indicates a debit under the applicable calculation rules.
Check the current instrument specification for rollover settings and any triple-swap day or daily multiplier shown. Do not assume one universal weekday or that your device's local midnight is the rollover time.
Remember that swap rates may change based on market conditions and your broker's policies. It's important to check these values before holding positions overnight, especially for longer-term trades.
Rates and rollover terms can change. Reopen the current specification for the correct account, platform and complete symbol, including its suffix. A current displayed rate does not prove which rate was applied to an earlier rollover.
To review an actual charge, compare the recorded swap with the position volume and direction, rollover date, applicable rate, calculation type, multiplier and currency conversion. A displayed rate alone is not the final posted amount.